When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11

A teddy bear with a missing ear, a classic trope, yet an image that sends such personal messages.

“Once upon a time” the four words that open floodgates of nostalgia in the mind of anybody who ever heard a storyteller.

“… we were friends” has your memory returned to your own raggedy battered toys. Are you shutting out today’s sounds of the rain drumming against guttering, or sirens in the street? Is there the start of a sentimental tear? Do you resent us for manipulating your emotions?

Take a moment to indulge in this bear, who represents so much. With his bald snout and timeless stare, he has soaked up countless tears and smears of snot. You know what he means even if you never had a teddy bear like him. You’ve put away the childish things, but still they’ve made you who you are today, and although you can hug a laptop, it won’t dry your tears.